Minneapolis (Sept. 18, 2018) – Minnesota sports fans have an incredible choice to make for this year’s “Minnesota Sports Moment of the Year” to be presented at the upcoming Minnesota Sports Awards – from an extraordinary show of sportsmanship, a buzzer-beater state title and a national championship to an Olympic Gold medal or a “Miracle.” The award will be decided by the public and voting is open now at StarTribune.com/SportsMoment. The winning moment will be announced during the second annual Minnesota Sports Awards, presented by Sports Minneapolis, on Oct. 24 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Between now and Sept. 30, Minnesota sports fans have the following “highlight-reel” plays and memories to choose from:

• Cretin-Derham Hall Buzzer-Beater Dunk Wins State Title - With 5.5 seconds left in the Class 4A boys’ basketball championship, and down by one point, Cretin-Derham Hall wins the state title on a buzzer-beater dunk by Daniel Oturu.
• Duluth Bulldogs Win Men’s Hockey National Championship - The unseeded Bulldogs, playing with five freshmen on defense, made it back to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2018. Scoring all they needed in the first period, in front of a raucous crowd, Minnesota Duluth beat Notre Dame, by a score of 2-1, to win their second national championship
• Jessie Diggins Wins Olympic Gold – In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Jessie Diggins anchored the U.S. women's cross-country team sprint. The Afton-native’s surge at the end of the race earned the first Olympic medal for U.S. women in cross country skiing and gave Team USA their first-ever Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing.
• Mounds View Pitcher Skips Celebration to Hug Friend After Championship-Clinching Strikeout – In this Internet viral video, Mounds View High School’s Ty Koehn struck out his longtime friend to send the Mustangs to the state title game. Rather than immediately celebrate with his teammates, Koehn ran to home plate to console Jack Kocon.
• The Minneapolis Miracle – On Jan. 14, 2018, the Minnesota Vikings won the NFC divisional playoff game on an improbable 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs, as time expired. The play will forever be known be known as “The Minneapolis Miracle.”

In addition to the “Moment,” Sports Minneapolis is partnering with Star Tribune Media Co. for the return of the Star Tribune Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame. A special class of inductees – the first in 12 years – will be announced during the Minnesota Sports Awards gala. The Star Tribune Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame includes more than 60 inductees including: Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Alan Page, Herb Brooks, wrestler Verne Gagne, golfer Patty Berg, broadcaster Halsey Hall and high school hoops legend Janet Karvonen.

To attend the Oct. 24 event, individual tickets and tables may be purchased online. The evening gala will include a silent auction, dinner and an entertaining awards ceremony featuring the winning athletes and coaches, as well as high-profile, local, sports celebrities. Vikings Ring of Honor member and fan favorite Ahmad Rashad returns to host the event, alongside FOX Sports North’s Anthony LaPanta and Lea B. Olsen.

Ahmad Rashad returns to host the event, alongside FOX Sports North’s Anthony LaPanta and Lea B. Olsen.

A portion of the proceeds from the Minnesota Sports Awards and its silent auction will benefit the Sanneh Foundation, created by former Major League Soccer player and native Minnesotan Tony Sanneh. The foundation’s goals include supporting and empowering youth through programs targeting both physical and emotional well-being.

The second annual Minnesota Sports Awards will also be carried live by FOX Sports North across multiple digital platforms.

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ABOUT SPORTS MINNEAPOLIS
Sports Minneapolis is focused on recruiting, enhancing and producing sporting events in the Minneapolis area for the benefit of our community. In addition to generating significant estimated economic impact, amateur and professional sports events can help connect the community through sport, fostering health and wellness.

Minneapolis is on a winning streak with major sports events, and Sports Minneapolis has played a major role in securing many of the recent and upcoming events to the region including: Super Bowl LII in 2018, the X Games (2017-2020), the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game and the 2019 NCAA Men’s Final Four. Sports Minneapolis has also been instrumental in locking in other sports events for Minneapolis, such as: Northern Lights Junior Volleyball Qualifier, USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships, and USA Taekwondo, as well as many other professional, collegiate and amateur sporting events.

For more information, visit sportsminneapolis.org.

ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS
Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area.

Anticipated attendance numbers are provided by partner organizations and are subject to adjustment based on meeting planner projections and post event results. Forecasted room night numbers reflect historical averages of room nights for the meeting or event.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International.

CONNECT WITH US
Online: www.minneapolis.org and for deals and exclusive experiences: http://go.minneapolis.org
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/meetminneapolis
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/meetminneapolis
On Instagram: www.instagram.com/meetminneapolis
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MEDIA CONTACT
Kim Insley, Public Relations and Communication Manager, 612-767-8118, KimI@minneapolis.org
Kathy McCarthy, Public Relations and Communication Director, 612-767-8048, KathyM@minneapolis.org
Or email MeetMinneapolisPR@Minneapolis.org